It's no secret that gifting a bottle of wine or six-pack of beer is an easy, timeless hostess or housewarming gift. Stock-the-bar parties are a no brainer - gifting alcohol is typically one of the easiest, go-to gift ideas. But how can you set your gift apart from all the other bottles of "insert liquor here" gifts? By pairing that bottle of alcohol with an awesome, local cocktail mixer.
Let's start with Bang Candy simple syrup. I have tried at least four of their flavors by now and love how versatile these mixers are - you can find a flavor to pair with most any liquor. What I love about these, too, are that they mix well with iced tea or soda water to make a delicious non-alcoholic beverage. One of my favorites this summer was mixing the Lavender Mint syrup with iced tea. For the alcoholic variety, my go-to is the Spiced Smoked Orange with bourbon. With Fall knocking (hopefully) at the door, try the Pumpkin Spice in your coffee or latte - delicious! More recipes can be found on here on Bang Candy's website.
Gift it: 1 Spiced Smoked Orange Bang Candy syrup + 1 bottle good bourbon + Bang Candy boozy caramels OR
1 Pumpkin Spice Bang Candy syrup + 1 bag of local coffee + Bang Candy marshmallows
I typically buy my Bang Candy syrups at Hester & Cook. Image southern giftologist
I consider the next two true cocktail mixers - sorry, I don't think these mix well with anything other than alcohol, but if you know of any non-alcoholic recipes, please post them in the comments below! I recently picked up a bottle of Walker Feed Co.'s Blackberry Margarita Mix from the Batch store - yum! Just mix it with tequila and you have yourself a delicious drink! I believe their Southern Bloody Mary mix is their most popular but they also have Honeysuckle Sour and Strawberry Rhubarb flavors which I have not yet tried.
Gift it: 1 bottle Walker's mix + 1 bottle appropriate liquor + some fun cocktail glasses or napkins
Image Walker Feed Co.
Lastly, I'd like to introduce you to Eli Mason cocktail mixers. I love being able to mix up a delicious cocktail at home without a bunch of fuss or a lot of ingredients and with Eli Mason's Old Fashioned cocktail mixer I can do just that. Find their other mixer flavors here, where to buy here and drink recipes here.
Gift it: 1 bottle Eli Mason Old Fashioned mix + 1 bottle good bourbon + 1 box of Willas shortbread cheese biscuits
A warm summer evening calls for a cool cocktail. Image southern giftologist
Cheers...and happy gifting!